“Now we got the target on our back. Everybody’s trying to come after us and I’m like, ‘come on.’ It’s back to work.” Jaylen Brown‘s comments show his commitment to defensively guard the Celtics’ Championship title. His recent intense underwater workout sessions have already created quite the buzz. Alongside his fellow star teammate Jayson Tatum, the duo had laid the groundwork for the Celtics’ 18th NBA Championship title win over the Mavericks. Ahead of this season’s championship chase is there a reason to believe that he might be inching closer towards Tatum in his overall fine shot rankings? And despite their bromance how does this pan out with Tatum?

During an NBA Mailbag Q/A session, Hoops Tonight host Jason Timpf discussed whether Jaylen Brown can be trusted to close in on Tatum. With the approaching season, the star duo is under the radar of a lot of analysts. This is because the Celtics’ game would largely depend on their gameplay and cohesion as a unit. Timpf believes that Tatum is a tier  above Brown, due to the former’s sharpshooting and passing prowess.  “I think he’s encroaching on it and there’s a chance that in the future they are in the same tier. But right now Tatum is just a way better passer than Jaylen Brown and I think that’s a big differentiator between the two of them but again the gap is closing.”

“Tatum’s going down a little level as his jump shot gets a little less reliable and Jaylen Brown’s extending a level as his play making gets more reliable and his feel for the game and commitment to defense is improving like the gap is closing and I do agree that Jaylen Brown is good enough to be the best player on the Championship team that’s why he’s in this tier but I still have Jayson Tatum a full tier above him.”

Timpf also suggested how he sees the perfect blend of promise and potential in Brown and how coming off the getting benched Olympics controversy surrounding Steve Kerr, Tatum is not happy with how the season panned out for his star rankings. Citing the stats, the host explained how in the postseason run, Tatum could only shoot a 50% just three times in that entire playoff run which he termed ‘embarrassing‘ for the star. The fans however, are confident of a strong comeback from Tatum after the summer heartbreaks.

Jay vs Jay: How Jaylen Brown’s competitive streak with Tatum can help the Boston Celtics

Like most Celtics’ die-hard fans, The Hoops Tonight host was confident enough that the team stands a fair chance at defending the title. “I mean I haven’t done my pre-season rankings or anything but I am basically a 100% certain that the Celtics are going to be my title favorites.” The two Boston Jays definitely serve as the team catalysts.

With 31 points, 8 rebounds and 11 assists from Jayson Tatum backed by 21 points, 8 rebounds and 6 assists from Finals MVP Jaylen Brown, the Boston Celtics dominated Dallas Mavericks. Securing a 106-88 win, the Celtics bagged the 2024 NBA Finals, a record-setting 18th NBA title. With Brown’s improved performance, it’s a win-win situation.

During the NBA Finals, Tatum posted the highest single-game scoring output between the two. He posted multiple steals in the 3 games and performed well as a primary defender against the likes of Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving. However, Brown’s efficient ball-handling skills, pick-and-rolls, shooting a respectable 44% from the field range and a field goal of 53.3% in three of the five contests, made a bigger defensive impact.

The evenly-matched duo was quite a tough one for the NBA panel of 11 journalists who were to select the NBA Finals MVP for 2024. With a slight margin win of 7-4 over his fellow star wing Tatum, Brown bagged the award. He also clinched the Eastern Conference Finals MVP award for his power-packed action in Boston’s four-game sweep of the Pacers.

The no-grudge held kind of a bromance between the two Jays is well-established for the Celtics’ fans. It was reflected when Brown won the MVP award by a small margin and the first thing he did was praise Tatum. “You know, it could have gone to anybody. It could have gone to Jayson. Jayson, like I can’t talk enough about his selflessness. I can’t talk enough about his attitude… I share this with my brothers, and my partner-in-crime Jayson Tatum. He was with me the whole way, so we share this s— together.”

The two Jays are all geared up for the season ahead as they come off their championship hangover. Even if the duo indulge in a friendly competitive streak, rest assured, there will be only one ultimate winner—the Boston Celtics team.